Marine Football Club are proud to announce the full plans for a new 8.32 acre stadium to be situated on Edge Lane, L23 1TR, in conjunction and with support from Bellway Homes and land-owner Craig Sneddon.
The stadium, of 5,000 capacity, is one of the biggest community benefit projects in the North West. The plans include a Community Hub, classrooms, gymnasium, 3G pitch and Health & Wellbeing Hub including provision for a doctors, dentist and mental health nurse. A 20-bedroom accommodation will also be incorporated into the main stand. The existing site on College Road will be retained as a Community Hub. Up to 100 jobs will be created from the project.
Since the club played Tottenham Hotspur in 2021 the club has progressed with 2 promotions and an increase in attendances from 350 to an average of 1,400. Marine In The Community, which launched in 2019, has grown exponentially and is now actively supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of thousands of people locally.
Marine FC CEO James Leary said “It was our aim to find a site within L23 that could become our new long-term home. I am delighted that we have made it this far in our aim to safeguard the future of Marine Football Club for the next 100+ years and create a project that will become a huge community asset.
Our aim is to retain and improve our support from the Crosby/Waterloo/Thornton triangle whilst growing our supporter base from the surrounding areas of Formby, Maghull, Aintree and Netherton. With that, the expansion of Marine In The Community to these wider areas will also further improve the community impact.
A soccer bus will be launched to support anybody living the opposite end of L23 or who use the railway to come to games departing from Crosby & Blundellsands Station passing through College Road, Crosby Village and onto Edge Lane.
The work to making this a reality though is far from complete and it will need to be a huge effort from everybody to ensure we can raise the funds to make it happen. I would like to thank Bellway Homes for their support and contribution so far. We still have a huge 7-figure sum to raise though and I would like to urge anybody who wants to get involved with the club in any way andhelp with the funding of the stadium to email me confidentially at ceo@marinefc.com. I would also like to thank Sefton Council who have been supportive of the club from the outset”
This is the most ambitious project the club has embarked in its 130-year history and a crowdfunder has been set up to assist in the fundraising efforts. James Leary added “If anyone can donate to support the project it will be a massive boost. If we can’t raise the funds the project will not happen.”
Anybody can donate to the Crowdfunder through the below link:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/marine-football-club-community-stadium
Further announcements regarding the project progress will be made in due course.
8 Comments
by Anthony
Looks nice, but the reason for moving was due to noise complaints. Building next to brand new house is not the going to resolve the noise complaints. The traffic around the area will also be effect even which impact the area I live so will not be happy.
by Carl Klaassen
Looks like this is a green field site adding to urban sprawl in the area and decimating our green space. A way for Bellway Homes to secure extra development land? Shame a brown field site cannot be found, plenty in Netherton and Sefton. Also closer to public transport for the fans. Think we can do better. Is the main field 3G astroturf? if so this limits Marine’s promotion potential which, I am sure the supporters will not favour.
by Dave Mc
Hi Carl,
There are no suitable brownfield sites within L23 which is key to the club to stay within.
The site is well served by buses that either go past on Edge Lane or are within a short walk.
In addition a soccer bus will run on match days linking railway station, current ground and Crosby Village.
The pitch is to be 3g as this is key to planning and funding – currently you can’t be promoted to the Football League with one but currently the club can’t go any higher due to the constraints at the MTA.
Re supporters the club members voted in favour of the move with a huge majority.
by Chris
I think you should put a gym inside aswell have people pay a subscription this would not only benefit the team with an influx of money but would be seizing a gap in the market for that specific area where the new ground will be located
by Dave Mc
Hi Chris,
A public gym is included in the scheme.
by Paul
Stay where you are. Your current ground is iconic and with a bit of imagination it can be made to accommodate as many people as you need it to.
Too many clubs get ruined due to grandiose plans for new stadiums!
by Dave Mc
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the comment but we have outgrown the current ground, which I am sure you will have seen if you were at the Boxing Day game v Southport.
There is little prospect of further expansion and we can’t therefore accommodate as many people as we need to, we can’t progress beyond our current level at the current site.
Any future ground grading changes around run offs etc could mean we can’t comply and the ground would have to close, meaning the end of the club – a new site, retaining the existing one for community use is the way forward and we are fully committed to making that happen.
by Cesar
About time they moved. The surrounding residrnts can have our peace and quiet back then.